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UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA

DEVELOPMENT OF ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES AMONG MALAYSIAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

AFSANEH BAGHERI

FPP 2011 4

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DEVELOPMENT OF ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP

COMPETENCIES AMONG MALAYSIAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

By

AFSANEH BAGHERI

Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, in

Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

March 2011

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DEDICATION

This thesis is dedicated to my family and friends

whose support has carried me here. To my mother

and father who have shown unconditional love and

were my first and most inspiration to further my

studies. To my husband who has sacrificed a lot

when I was far from the family for more than four

years. To my daughter whose love, passion, and

patience has forever inspired me. To my sisters and

brother who have supported me all through the

journey of my studies.

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Abstract of thesis presented to the Senate of Universiti Putra Malaysia in fulfilment

of the requirement for degree of Doctor of Philosophy

DEVELOPMENT OF ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP

COMPETENCIES AMONG MALAYSIAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

By

AFSANEH BAGHERI

March 2011

Chairman : Prof. Zaidatol Akmaliah Lope Pihie, PhD

Faculty : Educational Studies

Recent developments in entrepreneurial leadership raised many questions about how

to develop entrepreneurial leadership competencies particularly, in university

students as prospective entrepreneurial leaders. In particular, there is not enough

knowledge on the specific competencies enabling university students to lead

entrepreneurial activities, factors motivating them to learn and develop their

entrepreneurial leadership competencies, the process of their entrepreneurial

leadership competencies, and the roles that university entrepreneurship programs

play in developing the students’ entrepreneurial leadership competencies.

This research attempted to answer these questions through employing qualitative

research method. A sample of fourteen undergraduate entrepreneurial leaders

defined as students successfully leading the university entrepreneurship clubs and

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activities for more than two semesters and four university entrepreneurship program

coordinators was purposefully selected as the participants.

The main technique for data collection was semi-structured interviews. The

interviews lasted between 50 to 110 minutes and were recorded in a digital audio

recorder. Once the interviews were conducted, they were labelled and transferred to

NVIVO 8 software to be transcribed. The interviews transcribed in 48 hours after

the actual interview was conducted. Then, the transcriptions were sent to the

participants for content validity.

Analysis of the data including the interview transcriptions and documents provided

by the universities was carried out in two main phases. First, preliminary data

analysis that was the process of data analysis conducted after obtaining each data.

Second, thematic data analysis carried out by coding the data through open coding,

axial coding, and selective coding. Analysis of the data revealed that student

entrepreneurial leaders had two specific competencies that enabled them to lead

university entrepreneurship clubs and activates including personal competencies and

functional competencies. The dominant personal competencies of the student

entrepreneurial leaders were: proactiveness, innovativeness, self-efficacy, love of

challenges, and versatility. Functional competencies enabling student entrepreneurial

leaders to successfully lead entrepreneurship clubs and activities were ability to

create a caring interpersonal relationship, employing an enabling task delegation

approach, and building self-confidence of their group members.

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Two main factors emerged as the significant motives for the student entrepreneurial

leaders to learn and develop their entrepreneurial leadership competencies including

internal factors which are personal interest and self-development and external

factors including entrepreneurial learning opportunities and programs,

entrepreneurial leadership task demands and expectations, problems and

opportunities, and significant others.

Student entrepreneurial leaders’ entrepreneurial leadership competencies developed

through a continuous and gradual process of learning, change, and maturity in

personal and interpersonal competencies that occurs through involvement in

practicing leadership roles and tasks and requires executing a lot of endeavour,

ambition, and perseverance.

Thirty eight roles emerged as contributions of university entrepreneurship programs

in developing student entrepreneurial leaders’ entrepreneurial leadership

competencies which were organized in two clusters including student-related and

program-related roles. Student-related roles contained enhancing personal and

functional competencies of the students. Program-related roles reflected providing

entrepreneurial learning opportunities (experiential learning, social interactive

learning, observational learning and reflective learning), liking students to

entrepreneurial industries, and having a holistic approach to develop students’

entrepreneurial competencies.

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Abstrak tesis yang dikemukakan kepada Senat Universiti Putra Malaysia Sebagai

memenuhi Keperluan untuk ijazah Doktor Falsafah

PEMBANGUNAN DAN KECEKAPAN KEUSAHAWANAN DI KALANGAN

PELAJAR UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA

Oleh

AFSANEH BAGHERI

March 2011

Chairman : Prof. Zaidatol Akmaliah Lope Pihie, PhD

Faculty : Pengajian Pendidikan

Perkembangan bidang kepemimpinan keusahawanan dewasa ini telah mencetuskan

banyak persoalan tentang bagaimana untuk membentuk kompetensi kepemimpinan

keusahawanan khususnya, dalam kalangan pelajar universiti sebagai pelapis

pemimpin keusahawanan. Malah, secara spesifiknya masih kurang ilmu berkaitan

kompetensi yang membolehkan pelajar pemimpin keusahawanan untuk menerajui

aktiviti-aktiviti keusahawanan, proses perkembangan kompetensi kepemimpinan

keusahawanan, dan peranan yang dimainkan oleh program keusahawanan universiti

dalam membangunkan kompetensi kepemimpinan keusahawanan pelajar.

Kajian ini cuba untuk menjawab segala persoalan ini melalui kaedah kajian

kualitatif. Sampel 14 pelajar sarjana muda yang terdiri daripada pemimpin

keusahawanan yang dikategorikan sebagai pelajar yang berjaya mengetuai kelab dan

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aktiviti keusahawanan universiti melebihi dua semester pengajian dan koordinator

bagi empat program keusahawanan universiti telah dipilih sebagai peserta kajian ini.

Teknik utama bagi pengumpulan data merupakan temuramah separa struktur.

Temuramah yang dijalankan adalah dalam tempoh masa 50 sehingga 110 minit dan

direkodkan dalam pita rakaman digital. Setelah temuramah dijalankan, hasil

rakaman dilabel dan dipindahkan ke dalam perisian NVIVO 8 bagi tujuan

transkripsi. Ia dilakukan setelah 48 jam temuramah sebenar dijalankan. Setelah itu,

segala transkrip dihantar kepada para peserta untuk kesahan kandungan.

Analisis data yang merangkumi transkripsi hasil temuramah dan dokumen yang

disediakan oleh pihak universiti telah dijalankan dalam dua fasa utama. Pertama,

data analisis saringan yang merupakan proses yang dijalankan setelah setiap data

dikumpulkan. Kedua, analisis data utama yang dijalankan dengan mengkodkan data

melalui pengkodan terbuka, pengkodan berpaksi, dan pengkodan terpilih. Analisis

data menunjukkan pelajar pemimpin keusahawanan mempunyai dua kompetensi

khusus yang membolehkan mereka menerajui kelab dan aktiviti keusahawanan

universiti, meliputi kompetensi peribadi dan kompetensi berfungsi.

Kompetensi peribadi utama pelajar pemimpin keusahawanan adalah: proaktif,

inovatif, efikasi kendiri, sukakan cabaran dan serba boleh. Kompetensi berfungsi

yang membolehkan pelajar pemimpin keusahawanan untuk menerajui kelab dan

aktiviti keusahawanan merupakan keupayaan untuk membina hubungan

interpersonal yang baik, mengaplikasikan pendekatan pembelajaran dan

pembangunan terhadap kumpulan tugas, serta membangunkan keyakinan diri ahli-

ahli kumpulan.

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Dua faktor utama yang muncul sebagai motif yang signifikan bagi pelajar pemimpin

keusahawanan untuk belajar dan membangunkan keupayaan kepemimpinan

keusahawanan mereka adalah merangkumi faktor dalaman iaitu minat peribadi dan

pembangunan peribadi, manakala faktor luaran meliputi peluang dan program

pembelajaran keusahawanan, permintaan tugas dan tanggapan terhadap

kepemimpinan keusahawanan, masalah dan peluang, serta lain-lain lagi.

Seterusnya, kepemimpinan keusahawanan pelajar pemimpin keusahawanan

dikembangkan melalui proses pembelajaran yang berterusan dan beransur-ansur,

perubahan, dan peningkatan kompetensi peribadi dan interpersonal melalui

penglibatan dalam mempraktikkan peranan dan tugas kepemimpinan yang

memerlukan perlaksanaan usaha, impian, dan keteguhan diri.

Tiga puluh lapan peranan muncul sebagai sumbangan program keusahawanan

universiti dalam membangunkan kompetensi kepemimpinan keusahawanan pelajar

pemimpin keusahawanan yang dikategorikan dalam dua kluster, merangkumi

‘student-related’ dan ‘program related’. Peranan ‘Student-related’ merangkumi

peningkatan kompetensi peribadi dan fungsional para pelajar. Peranan ‘Program-

related’ meyediakan peluang-peluang pembelajaran keusahawanan (pembelajaran

berpengalaman, pembelajaran interaktif sosial, dan pembelajaran reflektif), motivasi

untuk belajar dan membangunkan kompetensi kepemimpinan keusahawanan, minat

pelajar terhadap industri keusahawanan, dan pendekatan secara keseluruhan untuk

membentuk kompetensi keusahawanan pelajar.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This project would have been an impossible task without the help and support I

received from so many quarters. First and foremost I give thanks to God for keeping

me focused to the end. I would never have made it this far if it was not for the

sustained encouragement and confidence expressed by my professors and advisors

that I could do it. In this, I sincerely appreciate Professor. Dr. Zaidatol Akmaliah

Lope Pihie whose patience and constant feedback has been inspirational in finalizing

this study and my co-members Associate Professor. Dr. Steven Eric Krauss and Dr.

Foo Say Fooi whose invaluable contributions and suggestions made this study

possible. I thank you most sincerely.

I have watched my family quietly suffer as I became more and more engrossed in

my studies. To my mother whose prayers have kept me going and my father who

was the first inspiration of me to further my studies up to this level. I recognize how

hard this past three years have been on them in particular my husband Jafaar

Mansouri whose support never wavered and my daughter Negar Mansouri, my

never-ending source of pride. Thank you for your patience. This is our achievement.

I would never have completed this work without the encouragement and support I

received from my sisters, brother, and my lovely nephew, Kiarash Torabian who

made me not to feel lonely when I was far from the family. Thank you all.

My acknowledgement would be incomplete without the mention of the scholarship

granted to me by School of Graduate Studies of University Putra Malaysia. Much

gratitude is due to all the members of Faculty of Educational Studies who created an

environment in which Ph. D. students can flourish.

Finally I would have had a heavy burden to carry if it was not for the support I got

from my friends. They all did but Dr. Mah Lok Abdullah and his wife and Susan

Zhalehpour more than most. Thank you.

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I certify that a Thesis Examination Committee has met on 2/3/2011 to conduct the

final examination of Afsaneh Bagheri on her thesis entitled “Entrepreneurial

Leadership Competencies Development among Malaysian University Students” in

accordance with Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 and the Constitution

of the Universiti Putra Malaysia [P.U.(A) 106] 15 March 1998. The Committee

recommends that the student be awarded the Doctor of Philosophy of Educational

Administration.

Members of the Examination Committee were as follows

Ismi Arif bin Ismail, PhD

Senior lecturer

Faculty of Educational Studies

Universiti Putra Malaysia

(Chairman)

Sharifah bte Mohd Nor, PhD

Professor

Faculty of Educational Studies

Universiti Putra Malaysia

(Internal Examiner)

Abu Daud bin Silong, PhD

Professor

Faculty of Educational Studies

Universiti Putra Malaysia

(Internal Examiner)

Alain Fayolle, PhD

Professor in entrepreneurship

Business school

EMLYON university, France

(External Examiner)

SHAMSUDDIN SULAIMAN, PhD

Professor and Deputy Dean

School of Graduate Studies

Universiti Putra Malaysia

Date:

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This thesis was submitted to the Senate of Universiti Putra Malaysia and has been

accepted as fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

The members of Supervisory committee were as follows:

Zaidatol Akmaliah Lope Pihie, PhD

Professor

Faculty of Educational Studies

Universiti Putra Malaysia

(Chairman)

Steven Eric Krauss, PhD

Associate Professor

Faculty of Educational Studies

Universiti Putra Malaysia

(Member)

Foo Say Fooi, PhD

Senior lecturer

Faculty of Educational Studies

Universiti Putra Malaysia

(Member)

HASANAH MOHD GHAZALI, PhD

Professor and Dean

School of Graduate Studies

Universiti Putra Malaysia

Date:

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DECLARATION

I declare that the thesis is my original work except for quotations and citations

which have been duly acknowledge. I also declare that it has not been previously,

and is not concurrently, submitted for any other degree at Universiti Putra Malaysia

or at any other institution.

AFSANEH BAGHERI

Date: 2 March 2011

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

DEDICATION ii

ABSTRACT iii

ABSTRAK vi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ix

APPROVAL x

DECLARATION xii

LIST OF TABLES xvii

LIST OF FIGURES xviii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xix

CHAPTER

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction 1

1.2 Background of the study 2

1.2.1 Entrepreneurship education in Malaysia 4

1.2.2 Researches on entrepreneurship education in Malaysia 8

1.3 Problem statement 12

1.4 Research questions 14

1.5 Significance of the study 15

1.6 Limitations of the study 18

1.7 Definition of terms 21

1.8 Summary 24

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction 25

2.2 Who is an entrepreneur? 27

2.3 Entrepreneurship and leadership: commonalities and differences 30

2.4 Entrepreneurial leadership definition and competencies 32

2.5 Entrepreneurial leadership models 36

2.5.1 Competencies model of entrepreneurial leadership 37

2.5.2 An integrated model of entrepreneurial leadership 39

2.5.3 Enactment model of entrepreneurial leadership 42

2.6 Motivation and entrepreneurship 44

2.6.1 Motivation to become an entrepreneur 45

2.6.2 Motivation to learn and develop in entrepreneurial

contexts

46

2.7 The process of entrepreneurial competencies development 49

2.8 Role of university entrepreneurship education programs in

developing entrepreneurial competencies of students

51

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2.8.1 Entrepreneurship education and students’ awareness of

their entrepreneurial competencies

54

2.8.2 Entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurial self-

efficacy, and leadership self-efficacy

57

2.8.3 University entrepreneurship programs and developing

students’ entrepreneurial innovativeness and creativity

71

2.8.4 Entrepreneurship education programs and provision of

learning opportunities

73

2.9 University entrepreneurship education programs and students’

entrepreneurial leadership competencies development

88

2.9.1 Challenges of embedding entrepreneurship education in

universities

90

2.9.2 Evaluating the roles of entrepreneurship education

programs

94

2.10 Research theoretical framework 94

2.11 Research conceptual framework 95

2.12 Summary 100

3 METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction 101

3.2 Basis for the use of a qualitative methodology 103

3.3 Research qualitative approach 104

3.4 Researcher as the main research instrument 105

3.5 Data collection 107

3.5.1 Interview protocols 110

3.5.2 Research questions 111

3.5.3 Pilot interviews 111

3.5.4 Data recording 113

3.6 Sampling strategies 113

3.7 The site for data collection 116

3.8 Data analysis 117

3.8.1 Preliminary or during data collection analysis 118

3.8.2 Thematic or post data collection analysis 122

3.8.3 Writing memos 126

3.9 Validity and reliability of research findings 127

3.9.1 Credibility 127

3.9.2 Transferability 130

3.9.3 Confirmability 130

3.10 Ethics to do a qualitative research on university students 131

3.11 Summary

132

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4 RESULTS

4.1 Introduction 133

4.2 Student entrepreneurial leaders’ background information 134

4.3 University entrepreneurship program coordinators’ background

information

140

4.4 What are university students’ entrepreneurial leadership

competencies?

142

4.4.1 Personal competencies of university student

entrepreneurial leaders

142

4.4.2 Functional competencies of university student

entrepreneurial leaders

163

4.5 What motivates university student entrepreneurial leaders to

learn and develop their entrepreneurial leadership competencies?

173

4.5.1 Personal motivation factors 174

4.5.2 Environmental motivation factors 178

4.6 How do university student entrepreneurial leaders’

entrepreneurial leadership competencies develop?

190

4.6.1 Gradual and continuous learning, change, and maturity 191

4.6.2 Involvement in practicing leadership roles and tasks 194

4.6.3 Executing a lot of endeavour, ambition, and

perseverance

195

4.7 What is the role of university entrepreneurship programs in

developing university student entrepreneurial leaders’

entrepreneurial leadership competencies?

197

4.7.1 Student-related roles of university entrepreneurship

programs

197

4.7.2 Program-related roles of university entrepreneurship

programs

211

4.8 Summary 246

5 SUMMARY, DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND

RECOMMENDATIOS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

5.1 Summary 248

5.2 Discussion 251

5.2.1 Competencies of student entrepreneurial

leaders

252

5.2.2 Factors motivating student entrepreneurial

leaders to learn and develop their

entrepreneurial leadership

260

5.2.3 The process of entrepreneurial leadership

development among student entrepreneurial

leaders

266

5.2.4 Role of university entrepreneurship programs

in developing student entrepreneurial leader’s

entrepreneurial leadership competencies

268

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5.3 Conclusion 282

5.4 Implication of the findings 286

5.4.1 Implication of the findings for improving

entrepreneurship education

286

5.4.2 Implication of the findings for entrepreneurial leadership

practice and theory development

295

5.5 Recommendations for future research 297

REFERENCES 300

APPENDICES 317

Appendix A1 318

Appendix A2 320

Appendix B1 321

Appendix B2 322

Appendix C1 323

Appendix C2 324

Appendix C3 325

Appendix C4 326

Appendix D1 329

Appendix D2 333

Appendix D3 335

Appendix D4 337

BIODATA OF STUDENT 338

LIST OF PUBLICATIONS 339